E-passports to be introduced to East Africa

The East African Community e-passport is due to replace all national passports next year.

State Minister for East African Community Affairs, Shem Bageine, said that during a March summit South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda signed a concession treaty to introduce the e-passports.

"The phasing out process of national passports begins January 2017 and is expected to end by December 2018. It means after that whoever is travelling to outside East Africa will use that document," said Bageine.

Bageine believes the e-passports will unify East African citizens, in addition to the planned use of Swahili and using a single East African currency.

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